Indiana tourist dies in Tropical Storm Fay

Associated Press
     5:18 PM EDT, August 22, 2008

NEPTUNE BEACH, Fla. - Florida police say an Indiana tourist drowned in rough ocean surf churned up by Tropical Storm Fay in north Florida.

Rachel Ann Reed, a 21-year-old from Valparaiso, died Thursday at Neptune Beach east of Jacksonville.

Neptune Beach Police Chief David Sembach said Reed was caught up in the rough ocean surf about 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

Reed's mother, Lynn Reed, said her daughter had gone to Florida with her boyfriend, Christopher Colella, to visit Colella's brother, who is in the Navy.

Sembach said all three were caught in the surf. The men tried to help Rachel Reed but were unable to save her in time, he said.

Lynn Reed said her daughter would have been starting her junior year at the University of Southern Indiana next week. The 2006 Portage High School graduate was majoring in special education, her mother said.